Arusha Declaration Museum — Attraction in Arusha

The Arusha Declaration was an initiative by president Julius Nyerere to turn the newly founded federation Tanzania into a self-sustaining socialist republic. The declaration was signed on February 5th 1967 in Arusha, hence the name, and outlined the principles for the new form of government. While well meant and rooted in the principles of human rights and equality for all, in practice the new rule lead to a collectivisation of agriculture where villages where formed after the ”Ujamaa” principles. Although this was first done by voluntary initiatives only, forced resettlement followed, as well as forced settlement of land not suitable for agriculture. Villages were supposed to deliver crops according to goals outlined in plans not made by those who knew the principles of farming. The result? Failing crops, falling agricultural productivity and partial famine, as well as villages being punished with more hard labour for failing to meet the quotas. That said, the Ujamaa principles lead to higher literacy rates, longer life expectancy, lower infant mortality and, to some lesser extent, increased gender equality.

Most of the above, however, is NOT told in the museum, instead I gathered this from Wikipedia afterwards. The museum outlines the principles of the Arusha Declaration, then moved on to showcase Tanzania’s history from prehistory until the early eighties (with focus on Nyerere’s life and a quick breakout to showcase presidents, speakers of parliament and prime ministers). The job of a museum is to ask questions rather than give answers - in this case, however, the question turned out to be ”what was actually the impact of the Arusha Declaration?”, and that is definitely beside the mark.

Oh, but if you want to see a picture of a German soldier on a zebra, this is the...

Not impressive. The exhibition is very light and mostly with individual photos from the independence and ujamaa-movement. There is no general introduction to the background of why there came to be an Arusha declaration - why did they want ujamaa and the declaration, what is the ujamaa and and why did they stop?

The first part is a very light introduction to origin of homo sapiens, that Tanzania has many tribes and the slave history. Then a brief introduction about colonial rule and then we are in the independence movement and then suddenly there is a war.

Also, the museum lacks a general narrative and I felt that the part that was really about the independence movement, Arusha declaration, the war and ujamaa was more an advertisement...

I loved this museum and I was blessed to met David. A talented young man who was my guide. He told me so many things about Tanzania history, about the early time, colonialism, slavery, tribes the first president. I’m overwhelmed with excitement about this visit and the knowledge he shared with me. His degree and his passion for history are clear. This trip is now even more complete now. THANK YOU, ASANTE DAVID!!! Please go to the museum and let...